Black Coffee and Green Tea
by PrincessTiva
Summary: "Anna had won the bet. She had rememberd his order from two years ago perfectly. One black coffee and one green tea. But it was no longer two years ago." Eventually Tiva. Multi-Chapter.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story was inspired by a post on tumblr from "fuckyeahtonyandziva" aka Mary-Kate. So, the prompt/idea is hers :) Also thanks to my favorite, Mary (aka werealljustwinginit) for leading me to this spectacular post/idea! :)  
****Summary: **"Anna had won the bet. She had rememberd his order from two years ago perfectly. One black coffee and one green tea. But it was no longer two years ago." Eventually Tiva. Multi-Chapter.  
**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of it's characters. And the original idea was Mary-Kate's (kisses to you!).  
Please enjoy reading! :)  
**

* * *

"Tony? Tony DiNozzo?"

Tony looked up, trying to make out where the voice had come from. He was sure he had heard the voice before but he couldn't quite place a finger on it. When he looked to the counter, he looked at none other than Anna, the barista that had been working at this very coffee shop up until two years ago. At some point she had just mysteriously disappeared, as Ziva had put it. And then there was that. Tony hadn't been to this particular coffee shop in one year. Ever since Ziva left. The sole reason being that he couldn't bear the thought of doing things he used to do with Ziva. Today was the first day he had made himself go to this coffee shop. He couldn't stay away from places like this forever. It was ridiculous.

"Anna?" Tony asked, a grin plastered across his face as he approached the counter.

Anna grinned right back at him and spread her arms in a tada-like gesture.

"I'm back," she announced.

"I can see that much. Where were you all this time?" Tony asked.

She rolled her eyes. "I was transferred to this stupid new store up in Connecticut. I swear it was the worst," she complained, her voice just a bit overly dramatic. Exactly the way Tony remembered her to be.

"When did you come back?" Tony proceeded to ask.

"Today's my first day back actually," Anna told him, apparently really happy about it.

"Well, welcome back to DC then," Tony said warmly.

Seemed like he wasn't the only one with a fresh start today. For some reason it made him feel better about coming here today. Maybe fresh starts weren't all bad. Anna seemed to be very enthusiastic about hers. So, maybe he just needed to start looking at the good things in life. For example..well, he couldn't quite think of anything. Except maybe a good cup of coffee. Anna had always been the one to make the best coffees in town. It had been Ziva who had introduced him to this particular coffee shop. No, he honestly needed to stop connecting Ziva to everything he did or thought. This was his life. And no matter how much he longed for her to be there with him, he knew it was not going to happen. He had waited for over a year and still hadn't heard anything from her. The situation seemed to be pretty hopeless.

"Thanks, I'm so excited to be back," Anna beamed, pulling Tony from his thoughts.

"Look, I'd love to chat a little more but I really need to go to work," Tony said apologetically.

He knew how much Anna loved to talk, especially to costumers she knew. But right now, he really didn't have time for that. He had already been running late when he had left his apartment. And he knew Gibbs wouldn't be too happy if he was late. Again. Tony had been late on the last three days. In front of his co-workers he had claimed that he'd had a hot date the previous night. Which wasn't true. It was actually far from the truth. The truth was, he'd been spending too much time contemplating whether or not to come to this coffee shop that in the end he'd always had to come to the office without getting any coffee, and still had been late on all three occasions.

"Sure, no worries," Anna replied.

"Okay, well, I'd like to have..," Tony started but Anna held up her hand to stop him.

"I bet you I remember your order," she announced, holding out her hand for him to shake.

He sighed but shook her hand anyway, agreeing to the little bet. Anna grinned, then got to work.

Tony looked around the coffee shop, trying hard to keep the tears at bay. He could not cry in public. It was just so hard. Everything in this store reminded him of Ziva. God, why couldn't they just change stuff every now and then? Then he wouldn't have a problem with painful memories.

"That'll be seven dollars," Anna announced from the counter.

Tony furrowed his eyebrows. Seven dollars? Had they changed their prizes? Well, he definitely wouldn't be coming back then. Seven dollars for one coffee was way too much. He wasn't, however, in the mood to discuss it right now, so he simply handed Anna the money.

She took the money, then pushed two cups across the counter.

"One all black coffee with a secret little packet of sugar; and one green tea with two tea bags, one and a half packets of honey," Anna said, smiling at Tony brightly.

Tony's smile on the other hand dropped. With shaking hands he reached for the two cups, pressed out a faint "thank you" and left the coffee shop, barely able to walk.

He didn't know how he even made it to his car. He slumped down in the driver's seat, placed the two cups in the cup holder on the center console, and gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white. He didn't even dare to start the car, knowing he was in no condition to drive right now. He needed a moment to collect himself. Two moments maybe. Or three.

His gaze shifted to the two cups and a chocked sob escaped his throat. He hadn't cried about it in eleven months. But this, this little stupid thing, just broke him apart.

Anna had won the bet. She had remembered his order from two years ago perfectly. One all black coffee with a secret little packet of sugar. For him. And one green tea with two tea bags, one and a half packets of honey. For Ziva.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, you read correctly (the summary). This is a multi-chapter story! YAAAAAAAY! It's been a while, hasn't it? But don't get your hopes up TOO high. This is NOT like "Our Summer", that's for sure haha. College and stuff... ;)  
Please let me know what you think, what could be improved and what you maaaaybe wanna see in future chapters in the reviews section below :) Loooove to hear from you! :)  
Kisses xoxo,  
~ C.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry for the delaaaaaay. College work got the best of me. Ugh! Anyway, so maybe you got a chance to read my two one-shots this week, or maybe you were just waiting for this update. Hope it lives up to expectations haha ;)  
Thank you so so much for the positive response to the first chapter! I'M SO EXCITED to be writing a multi-chapter story again! :)  
Sooo, here's chapter two :)  
Please enjoy reading! :)  
**

* * *

"Ugh, Tony, what _is_ this?" McGee asked, wrinkling his nose and pointing to the center console of Tony's car.

Tony looked in the direction of where McGee's finger was pointing. He had to look away immediately. It was Ziva's tea. Or more like, the tea that Anna had sold him, assuming he still needed to get the tea for Ziva. It had been almost a week since that morning at the coffee shop. Needless to say, he'd been late that day too, and Gibbs hadn't been amused.

For some reason, no matter how upset the cup made him, Tony hadn't been able to get rid of it. It held so much meaning. He just couldn't bring himself to actually pick it up and throw it into a trash can.

However, leaving it in his car had probably not been the smartest move either. The paper cup had pretty much soaked through and it was now a huge disgusting mess. He hadn't really noticed before. Or maybe he just hadn't wanted to take notice of it.

"Just a coffee I didn't get to finish," Tony quickly replied, trying to get McGee's interest off the stupid cup.

"This must have been here for days," McGee argued.

"Yeah, I didn't get to finish it on Monday," Tony lied.

McGee leaned forward and inspected the cup up close. "This doesn't even smell like coffee," he pointed out.

"So?" Tony asked, annoyed that McGee wouldn't just _drop it_.

"This smells like..," McGee started but Tony cut him off: "McGee, just drop it!"

McGee stared at Tony, confused by his sudden outburst. "I was just..," he tried but Tony held up his hand to signal him to stop.

"Well, don't," he said, his voice ice-cold.

McGee shut his mouth but didn't stop looking at Tony from the side. Tony stared straight ahead, trying so hard to not spill what this was really about. Eventually though McGee nodded.

"Are you gonna throw it away at some point though?" he asked carefully.

Tony turned his head toward him for a brief second. "I don't know," he admitted.

He really didn't know what to do about the stupid cup of tea. It should have been just that, a stupid cup of tea. But somehow, he couldn't bring himself to throw said "stupid cup of tea" away. It was too hard. Somehow, this particular cup held a deeper meaning for him. It almost felt like by throwing that paper cup away, he would be throwing memories of Ziva away. And he could not do that. Ever.

"If it helps, I could..you know," McGee offered, but Tony shook his head.

"No, that's my thing," Tony mumbled.

His thing. His problem. His memories.

"Okay," McGee simply said.

"Okay," Tony echoed.

He was glad that McGee had dropped it. But for some weird reason, he had almost wanted him to push more. Maybe that was what he needed. More pushing. No matter how much it hurt.

* * *

"Tony! Same as always?" Anna asked as Tony walked into the coffee shop a week later.

He had been to the shop every day for the past days, ever since that moment in the car with McGee. He had decided that ignoring it wouldn't help. So, he had decided that maybe the coffee shop was where he needed to start.

So far it hadn't really done him any good though. To the date, there had been five paper cups of green tea in his car. He had made himself throw them away, but he hadn't been able to tell Anna not to make the tea. It was too painful to explain the whole thing. Because Jesus Christ, Anna wasn't one to not ask.

"Yeah," Tony mumbled.

"Well, am I ever gonna see your lady with you?" Anna asked while she was making the two drinks.

"What? Oh, um, I don't think so," Tony replied.

"She must really like her tea though," Anna commented.

Tony smiled at the memory of Ziva. "Yeah, she quite likes it," he agreed.

"Where exactly does she live?" Anna then asked.

God, would she ever stop asking questions?

"Not as close as I'd like," Tony said, going for the safe way.

He was not gonna let his emotions get the better of him while he was out in public. He could let that happen at home, but definitely not here.

"Like, how far? Other side of town?" Anna questioned.

"No, a little further," Tony explained bitterly.

"Oh, I just assumed. Because this morning, a pretty lady walked in and ordered the exact same thing. Green tea with two tea bags, one and a half packets of honey," Anna said, handing him the two paper cups.

Tony almost dropped them right then and there.

"What?" he breathed out, unable to form any coherent thoughts.

That order was so typical Ziva. It couldn't be a coincidence. Nobody would have an order that precise, an order that only she ever placed. It wasn't possible. Was someone stalking him? Was this some sort of trick? Was he in danger? Or was she?

"Pretty funny, huh? I've only had that order placed by one person before, and that was always you," Anna commented, completely ignoring his perplexed expression.

"Yeah, pretty funny," Tony murmured.

"Well, enjoy your day then!" Anna said, smiling at him.

He nodded, turned around and headed for the door as if he was in a trance. Just when he reached the door, he turned around again.

"Hey Anna, what did she look like?" he called over to her.

"Like, dark curly hair, tanned skin, about as tall as I am, so pretty much not tall, dark eyes," Anna replied, shrugging.

* * *

**A/N: Gotta love a cliffy :P But honestly, it's not REALLY a cliffy because I bet you all have some..guesses ;)  
Please let me know what you think, what could be improved, and what you wanna see in future chapters in the reviews section below :) LOVE to hear from you guys! :)  
I'm not entirely sure when I'll be able to update again, seeing as this weekend is gonna be craaazy. I'm hoping mid-next-week though?!  
Kisses xoxo  
~ C.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So, it wasn't Wednesday but it's only Thursday today so it's not too bad haha :D Anyway, thank you so so much for your kind reviews, your follows, favorites, messages and EVERYTHING! It means the world to me!  
Here's the new chaaaaaaapter!  
Please enjoy reading! :)  
**

* * *

"Like, dark curly hair, tanned skin, about as tall as I am, so pretty much not tall, dark eyes," Anna had said.

Her words kept ringing in Tony's ears and there was no way he would forget them anytime soon. He had gone straight to the office from the coffee shop, the paper cup filled with green tea in his car. But God, he hadn't been able to focus at all. What Anna had said..it had ignited this small spark of hope in him. A spark that hadn't been there in over a year.

He knew only one person who would give that specific order. And he knew only one person who fit Anna's description so perfectly. But that person was Ziva. And she was in Israel. Or wasn't she?

He had no way of knowing. After all, he hadn't talked to Ziva in over a year. He had sent her an email for her birthday and for Christmas. But he had never heard back from her. Eventually he had given up on the email thing, even though he had desperately wanted to send another one. But that was just it: desperately. He couldn't make her think that he was that desperate. No, he could cope. Only problem was that he in fact couldn't.

Tony stared at his phone that was laying on the table in front of him. Ellie, Gibbs and McGee had all left for lunch, so he was the only person in the bullpen. It was now or never.

With shaking hands he took the phone into his hands and opened the contact list. He scrolled all the way down to where her name was. His throat tightened when he read the name. It had been too long since he'd actually selected that contact. He pressed the call button and lifted the phone up to his ear.

It rang once, twice, and with each ring, Tony's heart dropped further. He let it ring until the tenth ring before tentatively looking at the screen. His stomach knotted painfully. It was an American number. Of course it was an American number. He only had her American number. The thing was, she was no longer using that number. And he had forgotten.

He slammed the phone down on the table. "Jesus Christ, don't get your hopes up," he chided himself. This wasn't going to lead him anywhere. But he knew what might. Without really thinking about it, he grabbed his coat, wallet and phone and headed for the elevator. He needed to talk to someone. Now.

* * *

"Anna!" Tony exclaimed as he rushed into the coffee shop.

Thankfully it was completely empty and only Anna was standing behind the counter. She looked at him, slightly confused.

"Hi," she greeted, silently asking him what he was doing here.

Funny thing was, he had no idea what he was doing there either. For some reason, it had just seemed right to come here. Maybe this was where he could get some answers. Maybe this was...

"You're here because of the green tea thing, right?" Anna asked.

His eyes snapped up. Was she a mind-reader?

"Not exactly the tea, no, I just..," he started, but she held up her hand to stop him.

"The girl, right?" she asked.

Tony nodded. "Can you tell me anything else about her?"

Anna shrugged, "Like what?"

"Does she have an accent?" Tony blurted out the first question that came to mind.

"Oh yeah, like super thick accent," Anna told him.

"Middle Eastern?" Tony asked, his heart skipping a beat.

"I'm not good with that kinda stuff. Just..definitely not an American accent, not British either," Anna explained.

"Was she," Tony gulped, "was she alone?"

"Yeah..pretty weird if you ask me. Such a beautiful woman. You'd think she'd have a boyfriend or something. Or like, a husband. No offense, but she didn't look like the youngest of people. Maybe like..mid-30s?" Anna rambled.

Tony's heart skipped yet another beat. Could it really be her?

"Why do you wanna know all that?" Anna asked, but Tony was too caught up in his thoughts to register the question.

"Oh my God, is she some kind of suspect?" Anna squeaked when Tony didn't answer.

"What? No! No, no, no. It's more like a..personal matter," Tony admitted quietly.

Anna nodded in understanding. An eery silence settled in the room, neither knowing what to say. Anna had thousands of questions but didn't think he would be too happy if she asked them. Tony on the other hand was just trying to comprehend everything.

He felt bad for practically interrogating Anna, but he just really needed to know. He needed to gather as much information as he could, so he could be absolutely sure that it was her. What he would do with that information then, he didn't know. For now, he just needed the clarity.

"Did she say what her name was?" Tony questioned, blurting out the one thing that was at the front of his mind.

Anna bit her lip. "I think it was something like..Riva..Tiva..?"

Tony's heart leaped into his throat. "Ziva?" he asked, his voice thick with emotion.

Anna nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, yes, that's it! Ziva!"

* * *

**A/N: Oops another cliffy. Sorry? :P Please let me know what you think, what could be improved and what you wanna see in future chapters in the reviews section below! :) LOVE to hear from you and get your opinion on these things :)  
Next chapter will hopefully be up on the weekend or something, but I have two essays to write for college as well so we'll see ;)  
Kisses xoxo  
~ C.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Yaaaaay new chapter after less than a week! (technically I should be writing an essay for college right now - oops) Thank you so so much for your kind reviews, follows, favorites, messages, everything! It really means a lot to me :)  
Soooo, here's the new chapter :D  
Please enjoy reading! :)  
**

* * *

Anna looked around the coffee shop nervously. This was not her style. This was not what she would usually do. And she honestly wouldn't be doing it right now if it hadn't been for Tony's extreme pleading the other day.

"_Please Anna, it's no big deal," Tony pleaded._

"_It is a big deal, like it's totally not normal to do it," Anna shot back._

"_You talk to costumers all the time. Why can't you just..," he started but she made him shut up with just a single glare. _

"_Look, I get why you want me to do this. I really do. But literally questioning a person? I'm not a cop like you are," she told him._

"_Technically I'm a federal agent," he pointed out, but she just glared at him._

"_Okay, I'll do it! But only if you're in the same room," she eventually gave in._

_He nodded enthusiastically. Anna sighed. This was really happening._

Yeah, it was really happening. And here she was, prepared for her first "undercover investigation". Technically it wasn't really that special. Tony had simply asked her to ask that woman a couple of questions, loud enough for him to hear.

She glanced to the door that led to the back of the shop. Tony was hiding back there, too afraid to actually sit in the cafe like a normal person. Okay then. Grown man indeed.

Anna's gaze shifted to the clock. It was almost 7am and last time the woman that was supposedly Ziva had been at the shop at exactly 7am. If she would indeed come back today..

Her thoughts were interrupted when the bell rang, announcing someone opening the door. A woman with dark curly hair and tanned skin walked in – and Anna's heart leaped into her throat. Here it went.

"Good morning, how may I help you?" she greeted politely and immediately scolded herself for being so ridiculous.

The woman raised an eyebrow. Great. She obviously suspected something.

"Good morning," she replied then, looking Anna up and down.

Anna cleared her throat. "How may I help you?" she repeated her question.

"Can I have a green tea with two tea bags, one and a half packets of honey, please?" the woman replied.

"What name do you want me to put on the cup?" Anna asked. She just wanted to make sure this was actually the right person. God, she was too nervous to even think straight.

"Ziva," was the answer.

Anna bit her lip and looked at her sheepishly. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Well, that depends," Ziva said, smirking slightly.

"It's just..I think I remember you. Could it be possible that you used to come to this shop, like two years ago?" Anna questioned, trying to stick to the lines that Tony had suggested.

A surprised look spread across Ziva's face. "Yes," she then nodded.

Anna released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"Did you by any chance leave Washington and then come back?" she asked next.

Mixed emotions flashed across Ziva's face, before she eventually replied, "How would you know about that?"

"Oh, I..I was just wondering. I mean, I was transferred and just recently came back. It's still really weird to be back, so I'm kinda just looking for people who have experienced something similar maybe," Anna tried to explain.

"Oh," Ziva breathed out, obviously relieved.

Anna looked at her expectantly.

"Yes, I actually left Washington a year ago, and came back about two weeks ago. And it is indeed strange to be back," Ziva said.

Looking at her, Anna almost had the feeling as though Ziva's thoughts were far, far off. Too far to grasp probably. But she tried anyway. "This is probably too personal to ask, but why did you leave and why did you come back?"

"Why did you?" Ziva challenged.

"I was transferred for work. Not really my choice. After two years they offered me to go back to Washington and I immediately agreed. However, I didn't expect to feel so much like a stranger here. My friends moved on, my boyfriend moved on. Nothing is the same," Anna replied.

This was no longer about Tony's request. And she knew that. But for some reason it felt good to talk to someone about it. Even if she was a complete stranger, Ziva seemed to understand more than anybody else had so far. And it gave Anna this odd feeling of comfort.

Ziva nodded in understanding. "It was my choice to leave Washington, but it was not the right choice. That is why I am back now," she said.

"And did you reconnect with your old life here?" Anna asked softly.

"No. Just like you said, it feels like I am a stranger in my own home. And I am scared that my friends, people I love," she gulped, "have moved on too."

The statement hung heavy in the air, silence engulfing them.

"Listen, I don't wanna keep you too long. But if you ever feel like talking, know that you can always come here. I know what it feels like to be a stranger here," Anna told her.

Ziva nodded gratefully, while Anna quickly fixed her tea. As she slid it across the counter, Ziva smiled at her warmly.

"I already told you for, uh, the cup. But my name is Ziva," she said.

Anna smiled right back at her. "I'm Anna," she replied.

And for the first time since coming back, she somehow didn't feel like a stranger anymore.

* * *

"Why didn't you come out, idiot?" Anna scolded as she went to the back room where Tony was still hiding.

Ziva had just left the shop and seeing as no new customer had come in, Anna had used the opportunity to sneak to the backroom.

Tony kept his back to her. "Your conversation was personal, I didn't want to interrupt," he said.

But Anna wasn't buying it. He had been so desperate for her to do this. Then why hadn't he come out of hiding and greeted Ziva?

"That's bullshit. Tell me the truth," she demanded.

Slowly, Tony turned around to face her and Anna was shocked to see tears pooling in his eyes.

"Two weeks, Anna. Two weeks and she didn't tell me she was here," he said, his voice just barely above a whisper.

* * *

**A/N: Anna's perspective - yay or nay? Oh and excuse the cliffhanger :P Three is the charm? ;) Please let me know what you think, what could be improved and what you wanna see in future chapters in the reviews section below :) LOVE to hear from you guys! :) Oh and...as I asked: Anna's perspective - yay or nay? ;)  
Since I really need to write that essay I was talking about earlier, I can't guarantee when I'll update next. But like..Wednesday? Saturday? :)  
Until next time, then! :)  
Kisses xoxo  
~ C.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Oops, sorry for the delay. But I did say "weekend" in my list of possible update dates, too. Sooo... No, but honestly, I was super busy with college work. And college comes before fanfiction. That's just the way it is. Not gonna change.  
Anyway, so here's the new chaaaaaaaapter! :D  
Please enjoy reading :)  
**

* * *

_Two days later_

Ziva checked her watch nervously. It was 5:05pm. They had agreed to meet at 5pm. She was slowly starting to doubt the whole thing. Was it really a good idea to meet up with a person she barely knew? But then again, even though Anna didn't know it herself, she remembered the chatty barista from all those years ago. They'd only met briefly because usually Tony would get their coffee – or more precisely his coffee and her tea – alone, then meet her. But all that didn't matter now. This was the present. She was done living in the past.

Anna had seemed to be a nice girl when they met at the coffee shop and this morning Anna had suggested to meet up in the afternoon. Seeing as Ziva didn't really have anything else to do, she had agreed. Maybe it would be good to talk to someone who was going through the same struggle.

"Ziva, hey!" Anna's voice pulled Ziva from her thoughts.

She turned around and saw Anna approaching the table. They had agreed to meet in a small café instead of the coffee shop Anna worked at, seeing as it "would be so weird to be watched by co-workers", according to Anna.

"Hello Anna," Ziva greeted, a smile on her face.

Anna took a seat opposite Ziva and rested her hands on the table, her eyes sparkling as she leaned forward.

"I have something to tell you," Anna announced.

Ziva raised her eyebrow, silently telling her to continue.

"I know you lived in DC before, I remember you," Anna blurted out.

Ziva sighed, then smiled and nodded. Well, apparently Anna had realized it, too. Which led to the inevitable question whether or not she still knew Tony. What if he still went to that coffee shop? What if Anna knew more than Ziva could have hoped for?

"I remember you, too, Anna," Ziva replied.

Anna stared at her for a long time, then turned her head to avoid her eyes. Wow, this conversation was certainly more awkward than Ziva had anticipated. A brief hello and then oh hey I remember you. And now? She looked at Anna, trying to figure out what to say.

"I'm sorry," Anna eventually whispered.

She slowly turned her head to look at Ziva, who could clearly see the guilt in the younger woman's eyes.

"What are you sorry for? You have nothing to be..," Ziva started but Anna cut her off: "I swear it wasn't my idea! And when we started talking, I actually forgot about the whole thing because you were honestly the first person who seemed to understand the struggle of being a stranger in your own home."

Ziva sat there, stunned, as Anna took a deep breath.

"What is this about, Anna?" Ziva asked carefully.

"I told him about the tea order, and he just wanted to know whether it really was you," Anna told her.

"Who?" Ziva urged.

"Tony. Tony DiNozzo," Anna replied.

Ziva stared at her with wide eyes, her mouth opened and closed but no words came out. Tony knew she was here. He would hate her for not telling him. He would hate her, period.

"So, he..knows?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," Anna whispered.

The confirmation hung heavy in the air. Ziva tried to process the information but just couldn't figure out what to make of it. Part of her wanted to get up and run and never come back. But the other part wanted nothing more than to stay, make things right. That was the reason why she had come back in the first place after all. She had made the biggest mistake of her life a year ago. She would not make another spur of the moment decision that she would later regret. She was done making mistakes.

"Is he mad?" she eventually managed to ask.

"Not mad, just..disappointed I guess. He didn't understand why you didn't contact him," Anna explained.

Ziva nodded, trying to come to terms with the fact that Tony knew she was here. And clearly wasn't happy.

"Look, I understand why you didn't tell anyone you were back. We're on the same team here, remember?" Anna told her, smiling gently.

"Did you tell anyone?" Ziva asked, her voice now a little calmer.

It was nice to know that someone knew exactly what she was going through. Maybe Anna could provide some insight on what to do, how to proceed from this point on.

"I tried. The first person I went to was my best friend. She told me that my boyfriend is now engaged, about to get married. And that my other friends had moved away to all kinds of different places. And then she told me that she wanted nothing to do with me anymore because I wasn't there when she needed me. She didn't explain when that was or why she didn't call me then. She just completely rejected me," Anna said, tears pooling in her eyes, her voice breaking.

"I am so sorry, Anna," Ziva whispered, touching her forearm.

Anna smiled through her tears. "It's okay. I have accepted it."

"No, you have not. You said so yourself. You feel like a stranger in your own home," Ziva retorted.

"True," Anna murmured.

"But, you see, I feel like a stranger in my own home, too. We do not have to feel like strangers anymore. Because two strangers make one pair of familiar people," Ziva told her softly.

Anna looked up at her and smiled. "I like the sound of that."

Ziva smiled back at her. She liked the sound of it, too. Maybe a new friend was what she needed to feel less strange in the place that used to feel like home. Maybe this was the start of no longer feeling like a stranger in her own home.

"Why haven't you told anyone that you're home?" Anna eventually asked.

Ziva sighed, "I am scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Rejection."

"Well, you'll never know if you don't try," Anna told her.

"I just do not know whether I could handle being rejected by my friends, family, the people I love," Ziva admitted.

"I don't think your friends moved on though," Anna said, shrugging.

"How can you be so sure?" Ziva questioned.

"Well they're not just your friends, but your family. You don't move on from family," Anna explained.

What she was saying made sense. There was only one thing that was bothering Ziva.

"You're worried about whether he has moved on," Anna guessed.

Ziva tried to avoid her gaze but wasn't able to hide the blush that was slowly creeping on her cheeks.

"I mean, I can't speak for his entire life, but I have only ever seen him alone in the shop," Anna said, "and to be honest, he looked quite lost. Like he was searching for something, but couldn't figure out what was missing."

Her words hit Ziva like a ton of bricks, sucking the air out of her lungs. It was exactly what she'd felt all those lonely nights – and days – in Israel. Like something was missing but she couldn't figure out what. Like she was searching for something but the thing that was missing was keeping her from finding it. Until she had eventually booked the flight to Washington and the puzzle piece had moved into place. Now she was searching for it, but still couldn't find it.

"I wanted to start over, leave the past behind, live in the present, into the future," Ziva whispered under her breath, more to herself than to Anna.

But Anna heard anyway. She smiled at Ziva softly.

"Well, life is lived into the future, but only understood through the eye of the past," Anna said.

Ziva looked up and met Anna's eyes. She was right. This was it. All this time she had been focused on making a clean break, starting over, leaving the past behind, never looking back. The thing with the future was, however, that it only worked if there was a present – and a past.

* * *

**A/N: Some great life advice right there?! ;)  
Please let me know what you think, what could be improved and what you wanna see in future chapters in the reviews section below! :) LOVE to hear from you guys! :)  
New chapter will be up as soon as I get the college workload done, which should be at some point in say the next 7 days?! ;)  
Kisses xoxo  
~ C.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I. Am. So. Sorry. Ugh, seriously! I'M SO INCREDIBLY SORRY! I did NOT plan this hiatus. Life (mostly college but also other things) got in the way and I had no control over it. I literally hate it and I can't tell you how sorry I am. You know how much I love writing and you know how much I love writing for you guys. So please believe me when I say I didn't mean to do this :(  
So, if anyone is still interested in this story...here's the new chapter :)  
Please enjoy reading! :)  
**

* * *

Ziva nervously fiddled with her fingers, looking around the small store in panic. Her gaze landed on Anna who shot her a reassuring smile. This was absolutely nerve-wrecking. Worse than when she'd gotten on the plane back to DC in the first place. From where she was sitting, Ziva couldn't see the door, so for the past half hour she had been forced to depend on Anna's facial expressions. So far only "regular" costumers had come in. Not the one they were waiting for. They being her and Anna. After their first meeting two days ago, they had met up again and discussed a plan. It needed to be perfectly planned or else it would fail and she couldn't afford that.

The door opened again and Ziva looked at Anna, trying to read her expression. And what she saw made her shiver. Apparently this was it. Anna's face turned serious, then nervous.

"Good morning," Anna said, her voice trembling a bit.

"Good morning, Anna," his voice replied.

Ziva's heart skipped a beat upon hearing his voice. The voice she'd been longing to hear for so long. And then he stepped into view – and her whole world stopped. For a moment, she forgot how to breathe, how to make her heart beat again.

In what seemed to be a very far distance, she could hear Anna's voice asking Tony for his order and Tony replying with "the usual". That spurred Ziva into action. She could not miss this opportunity. Everything had been worked out perfectly after all. She couldn't let her emotions get the best of her and ruin the moment.

Ziva took a shuddering breath, then slowly rose from her seat. Her legs felt like they were going to give out right there and then and make her fall to the floor. Trying to walk as upright as possible, she slowly approached the counter. When she finally came to a stop right behind Tony, she was almost too overwhelmed to do anything. He still smelled the same; the familiar scent filled her nostrils and made her dizzy.

"Tony," she whispered, unable to form any words but his name.

He tensed up visibly and Ziva tried to make eye-contact with Anna to get a hint as to what his facial expression looked like. But Anna was behaving according to plan, thus turned away to give them space. So, maybe the plan hadn't been that perfect after all. Ziva gulped as Tony turned around painfully slow.

He stared at her, eyes boring into hers, searching for something, anything. Any hint that this was real, that this was happening.

"Ziva," he eventually whispered.

Her name on his lips was what finally broke her. She bit her lip to keep it from trembling and willed the tears to go away. But it was too late, a single tear rolled down her cheek. She raised her hand to quickly wipe it away but of course he had noticed. He reached out and closed his fingers around her wrist, pulling her hand down. At first she tried to pull away again but upon looking up into his eyes she couldn't bear to lose the contact. She had been longing to feel his skin on hers again. That familiar, gentle touch. A touch that made her feel whole and alive and the one touch that she had found she couldn't live without.

She looked up into his eyes and had to fight back her tears yet again. The look in his eyes was one of pure vulnerability. And the fact that she had caused him to feel like this tore her heart apart. She shouldn't have left, she shouldn't have..

"You're real," Tony whispered, pulling her from her thoughts.

She gulped. God, how it hurt to hear his voice like that. He didn't deserve any of the things she had put him through.

"I came home," she whispered back, her own voice cracking.

"Home," he repeated quietly, more to himself than to her.

"I..I wanted to tell you earlier. But..," she started but trailed off when his eyes met hers again.

"Then why didn't you?" he questioned.

She gulped audibly but couldn't form any words.

"I've been waiting for you forever, Ziva. I missed you like hell and I've been waiting for your return ever since I left you in Israel. I put my life on hold for you. And you didn't even think about letting me know you're back in town," he hissed, his voice taking on a dangerous edge.

Not dangerous in the sense that she was scared of him. But dangerous in the sense that she felt like it might take a bad influence on their fragile relationship. Or lack of relationship. Whatever you liked to call it.

"It is not easy, Tony. Coming home was the right decision. The only right one I have made in a very long time," she began to explain.

He exhaled loudly. Maybe she was actually here to stay. Maybe this was actually a good thing. A fresh start. For the first time in over a year, he actually felt like he could dare to be hopeful again.

"But once I came here, I felt...insecure," she admitted.

He knew exactly how much it took for her to admit that. And honestly, he gave her credit for it. But it still didn't explain why she didn't contact him. Didn't she know that she could trust him? That she could feel safe with him?

"I did not know what had happened in my absence. Things could have changed. And I was not ready to face that," she explained.

Tony looked at her, his eyes finally settling on hers. What he saw there nearly broke him apart. She looked so scared, so insecure indeed. Maybe Anna had been right when she had talked to him the other day. She had told him about her own experiences with coming home, how hopeful she had been and how deep she had fallen. It made sense that Ziva was feeling insecure. They hadn't really been in contact since he had left her in Israel. So, she had no way of knowing how things were back in DC. Maybe she had been scared that they had all moved on?

"Things didn't change," he assured her quietly, taking a step closer to her.

His hand that was still holding onto her wrist slowly let loose and he wove his fingers through hers instead, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

As his words registered with her, Ziva let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. He hadn't moved on. He had indeed been waiting for her. Something she hadn't even dared to hope for. He deserved so much better, someone who wouldn't just get up and leave him and come back into his life out of the blue.

The ghost of a smile spread across Ziva's face as she looked down at their interlocked hands, then back up into his eyes.

"Does this mean you are..," she started but he cut her off: "I am not ready, Ziva. This past year..it was hell. I can't just pretend like nothing happened."

His words hit her like a ton of bricks and she wanted to slap herself for getting her hopes up in the first place. She should have known, she should have not assumed that..

"I'm not saying no, Ziva. I'm saying I need time. I think we both do," he continued.

He gently touched her cheek with his free hand, making her look at him again.

"After everything that has happened, we deserve to take some time. Don't you think?" he whispered.

Her heart skipped a beat when he flashed her the smile she loved so much. She nodded slowly. They really did deserve some time. And he was right, it wasn't a good idea to just jump into something right now.

"I want to do this right, Tony. But I do not know how to do it right," she said, voicing her greatest fear.

Sure, she had made the decision of coming home. And she didn't regret it. But she was done making mistakes. She had been busy making mistakes her entire life. Now that was in the past. She would learn from them, but not make any new ones. And that included making things right with Tony. Because God, this was the one thing she just couldn't mess up.

"I have no idea either, Ziva. But we will figure it out," he assured her with a smile.

"We always do," she replied, smiling right back at him.

"Um, sorry to interrupt but, uh, here are your drinks," Anna suddenly said from behind them.

They both turned around and couldn't help but grin when they saw two cups on the counter. Anna grinned right back at them.

"One all black coffee with a secret little packet of sugar; and one green tea with two tea bags, one and a half packets of honey," Anna said, winking.

Ziva took her tea and turned to Tony.

"To new beginnings," she toasted, holding out her cup.

"To new beginnings," he echoed as he touched his cup to hers.

This time, Anna had really gotten his order right. And he couldn't be happier.

* * *

**A/N: So, I hope this kinda makes up for the freaking long unplanned hiatus ;) TIVAAA! And no, this is NOT the end! :) This is just like...half-time maybe? I don't know yet. BUT I will continue for sure! :)  
Please let me know what you think, what could be improved and what you wanna see in future chapters in the reviews section below :) (Also if you're still reading cause I'm worried that nobody is reading this anymore..) LOVE to hear from you and you know I'm always up for your suggestions :)  
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! xo  
Love you guys,  
~ C.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sooooooorry for the delay - again! Hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve and a good start in 2015! Wishing you all the best for the New Year xo!  
IMPORTANT: Oh my Gosh! The amount of reviews on this story so far has surpassed the amount of reviews "Our Summer" had at this number of chapters :O THIS IS INSANE! THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!  
So yeah, here's the long-awaited chapter 7 ;)  
Enjoy reading! :)  
**

* * *

"Seriously though, what is wrong with you?" McGee asked for what felt like the fifth time.

Tony didn't even look up from his computer screen. Ever since he had come into the office that morning, McGee hadn't stopped asking what was "wrong" with him. Truth was, nothing was wrong. In fact, things were better than they had been in quite a while.

It had been two weeks since that fateful morning at the coffee shop and things were progressing quite nicely. He had taken Ziva out to see a movie that very evening and they had ended up talking in his car for two hours – until 1am. Since then, they had been on a handful of dates, though he refused to call them dates. With them it had always been different. And date just wasn't the right word for what they were doing. He liked to just call it spending time with Ziva. Which was basically the same thing – to outsiders. But to him, spending time with Ziva was better than going on a date with Ziva. He could go on a date with anyone, it was..well, impersonal in a way. But spending time with someone meant that you had "a thing" with that person. Spending time could mean so many different things. Going to the movies or watching a movie on the couch, having dinner at home or out in a restaurant, going for a walk, talking for hours. The possibilities were endless.

Which was precisely what they had been talking about for a while now. It was a kind of theme for their new relationship. Because yes, it was new. And no, he was not going to deny that it was completely different from what they had had before that. Sure, they had a history and that was a fact they weren't talking around. But they were both different people now. Not bad different. Just different.

Even though Tony was still insisting on taking it slow, his determination was slowly crumbling. He wanted nothing more than to just forget about everything and jump right off the cliff with Ziva, to start a real relationship. The consequences be damned. At least that was what half of his heart was telling him. The other half was reminding him of how that had worked out the last time around. And this time, he wasn't going to take any chances. No screwing up. This was far too important.

Last night, they had talked until one in the morning again and eventually decided that it would just be easier if Tony stayed over at her place. His go-bag had been in his car, so it hadn't been a problem to get ready for work in the morning. When Ziva had first suggested that he could just stay over, he had been insecure to say the least. Was it the right thing to do? Were they moving to fast? In the end, he had settled on just "going with the flow". And it had worked out just fine. Better than fine, actually. They had shared a bed. Nothing more. Nothing less. Looking back now, Tony knew how important this milestone (if you wanted to call it that) had been.

Which was also the reason why he couldn't stop smiling today. And why McGee was constantly asking him what was "wrong".

"Hello? Are you just gonna ignore me all day?" McGee's voice pulled Tony from his thoughts.

"I'm not ignoring you," Tony replied, still not looking up from his work.

"Well, then will you answer my question?"

"I just did."

"The other one."

"Which was?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Why do you assume something is wrong with me?"

"You're eerily cheerful. It's not normal."

"Why is being cheerful eerie?"

"Because you aren't cheerful."

"I'm the most cheerful person on the planet."

"No, you're not, Tony," Ellie's voice cut in.

This time Tony did look up, only to see Ellie Bishop walking into the bullpen.

"Let me tell you that I am, in fact, the most cheerful person in this room right now," Tony said.

"McGee is right though, you are eerily cheerful," Ellie commented.

"You too? Seriously?" Tony complained.

"Look, I'm just..worried," McGee said, shrugging.

"Worried? Because I'm cheerful?"

"You haven't really been this cheerful in a while and I guess it just surprised me."

"Well, don't be surprised because as I said, I'm the most cheerful-"

"You done bantering? We got Daisy Miller in interrogation," Gibbs' voice cut them off.

"On it, boss," Tony announced, jumping up from his chair.

He was just happy to have an excuse to get out of there. The questions were driving him nuts. Since when was being happy a bad thing? He wished he could have just told McGee the truth but he had promised Ziva not to say anything. And he would stick to that promise. For her sake and for his.

* * *

Five hours later, they had finally wrapped up the case. The wife had done it, just like Tony had predicted. Now, he was in front of Ziva's apartment complex, trying to smooth down his dress shirt as he rang the doorbell.

"Tony?" Ziva's voice rang through the speaker.

"Yeah, hi," Tony replied.

A buzz sounded and Tony pushed open the front door. Within seconds he was up the stairs. A huge grin spread across his face upon seeing Ziva leaning against the door frame of her apartment. He picked up his pace and when he reached her, he immediately wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in for a hug.

"How was your day?" Ziva asked as she pulled back to look at him.

"Same old, same old," Tony replied, smirking as he leaned in to press a small kiss to the tip of her nose, making her giggle.

"Do you want anything to drink? Eat?" Ziva questioned as they made their way into the apartment.

Tony sat down on the couch and patted the spot next to him.

"No, I'm good. Come here," he said.

She smiled and sat down right next to him, their shoulders and knees touching. He took her hand in his. Ziva's gaze was fixed on their hands as he interlaced their fingers.

"I missed you today," Tony said.

"I missed you, too," she replied, smiling at him.

"I've been thinking..," he started but she cut him off: "That is never a good thing."

"Miss David, Miss David, always the charming one," he teased as they both laughed.

"McGee wouldn't shut up about me being 'eerily cheerful' today, and it kinda got me thinking," Tony explained, his thumb drawing nonsense patterns on the back of her hand.

"About us?" she asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Yeah."

"I've been thinking a lot about that too lately. Especially today."

"McGee was right about one thing, you know. I am really cheerful. And I haven't been this happy in quite a while."

"Me neither," she whispered.

"I know it's mainly been me saying we need to take this slow, but I think it might be time to shift from first gear into second gear," Tony said.

"That's an interesting metaphor," she giggled.

"I'm a man of many talents," he retorted, winking at her.

"Well, I have a certain love for metaphors."

"Is that so?"

She nodded, a small smirk playing on her lips.

"Well, on a scale of one to ten how much do you love this particular metaphor?" he asked almost carefully.

Without a word, Ziva pulled her hand from Tony's and got up from the couch. She could feel his stare on her as she walked to the other side of the room to where her CD collection was. Without a second's hesitation, she pulled out one of them, then turned back around. She held it up and looked right at Tony.

"You know how you listen to a song for the first time and you find yourself on a two way street? You either hate the song or you love it. I loved this song from the beginning," she said, smiling fondly at the CD in her hand, then looking back at Tony.

"It is not as easy as it appeared though. The road has three turns. You cannot stop listening to the song and never lose interest in it. Or you lose interest and never listen to it again. Or you listen a lot to it in the beginning, but then you stop listening to it, and when you hear it again after a while you are instantly hooked again and you ask yourself why you ever stopped listening to it," she continued, taking a few hesitant steps toward Tony.

"You made the turn. And then you made two more turns and are on the street you now know you should have originally been on. You love the song and will never stop listening to it because it is such a good song. But of course you do not want to take a wrong turn again, so you have to pay attention to the road ahead of you. After all, you do not want to lose interest in the song and end up on yet another street. So, you go slowly at first, paying more attention to the staying on the road than to the song," she paused, "but then you realize that you will never see the rest of the journey down the road if you do not shift gears."

"You really do love metaphors," Tony whispered, his throat tight.

"I do," she confirmed.

She came to a stop in front of him and handed him the CD.

"Which street?" she asked carefully.

"The same," he replied, his eyes meeting hers.

She smiled. "Good. You cannot shift gears if half of the car is missing after all."

He smiled right back at her. "So, we will shift gears then?"

She nodded as she took his hand: "Yes, it is time to shift from first gear into second gear."

* * *

**A/N: Okaaaaaaay so this has been a thing..  
Please let me know what you think, what could be improved and what you wanna see in future chapters in the reviews section :) LOVE to hear from you guys! **  
**Thanks again for the previously mentioned "record"! :)  
I have a lot of college work coming up, but I'll try to update as soon as possible :)  
Until then! Love you lots xo  
****~C.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: *peeks around corner* Do you remember me? Probably not. I can't blame you though. Falling off the face of the earth was definitely NOT what I had planned. There are several different reasons that all piled up and eventually it led to this effing long hiatus that I am truly and incredibly sorry for. I could list all the reasons right now, but a) some of them are kinda personal, and b) it wouldn't even help the case in any way. What matters right now is that you know how sorry I am and that I didn't mean to leave you hanging for so long!**

**Here is the new chapter, and I hope it kind of makes up for the long wait (who are we kidding, the long wait can't be made up for).**

**Please enjoy reading! :)  
**

* * *

_One week later_

"Will you go on a date with me?"

His question caught her completely off-guard. Wasn't that exactly what they had been doing for the past weeks? Going out together, on dates?

"What?"

He nervously fidgeted with his fingers, "I mean, as in..a date date. The real deal."

Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. This was where he was going with his question. The past weeks had been about catching up, restoring their friendship. Then a week ago they had agreed to shift into second gear, which for them included holding hands, touching for regularly and staying over at each others' places. Without anything happening. They hadn't even kissed yet. Which, on the one hand, was odd for them. They had always been bold when it came to their relationship, not holding back. But now they were both different people. So, on the other hand, it was also healthy to not rush into anything. And they both knew it.

"Tony," she eventually whispered.

He smiled, but she could see the nervousness in his eyes as he took a hesitant step toward her. He reached out to take her hand in his, interlacing their fingers.

"I don't want to rush you. If you're not ready, we can wait," he assured her, "but I just really want to take this step."

"Take the risk," she added.

He didn't look away; in fact, if anything, his face reflected even greater determination.

"This, us," he said, his voice strong, "we are worth the risk. We need to be worth the risk."

She gulped, then squeezed his hand. "Yes."

"Yes, as in you'll go on a real date with me?" he asked, his eyes sparkling.

She chuckled, "Yes, Tony, I will go on a date with you."

* * *

"Will you just tell me where we are going?" Ziva asked for the hundredth time since they had gotten into the car.

"It's a surprise," he insisted, smirking.

He knew how much it was bothering her to not be in the loop. But truth be told, he was really enjoying this. Too much probably. He glanced over at her and saw her adorable pout. Clearly, she wasn't as unhappy as she was pretending to be. She could fool anyone else, but not him. He could read her like an open book, he had always been able to. And that was also why the sparkle in her eyes didn't go unnoticed by him. She was excited. And annoyed. But mostly excited. Though, of course, she would never admit that.

"We're almost there," he told her.

"Fine," she huffed, making him laugh.

They rounded another corner before Tony eventually put the car into park. He got out of the driver's side and opened the passenger side door for Ziva. She smiled at him when he offered her his hand.

"You are taking this quite seriously," she commented.

He raised his eyebrow in question.

"Being the true gentleman, yes?"

"Only the best for my lady," he replied, winking at her.

He was surprised to see her blush slightly.

She looked around, taking in their surroundings. The area seemed oddly familiar to her. But she couldn't quite put her finger on it. When Tony tugged on her hand to lead her to their final destination, she went willingly. That was until she finally figured out where they were going. She came to a sudden stop, glancing back and forth between the door in front of them and Tony.

"Really?" she questioned, though she couldn't help but smile a bit.

He shrugged, "I don't see why not."

"Did you not say 'real date'?"

"Yeah. So?"

"This is..," she started, but he cut her off, "The coffee shop where our new beginning started. Where we toasted to new beginnings. I think it's only appropriate that we come here for our first date. I..hold quite fond memories of this place."

"But it is late. Are they not closed?" she asked, the confusion written all over her face.

"Well, you see, I'm a man of many talents, and I managed to arrange something," he said, winking at her.

She laughed and playfully slapped his arm. "You are unbelievable," she exclaimed.

"And you love me for it."

He regretted the words as soon as they had left his mouth. Couldn't he just shut up for once? They were by no means ready for the l-word. He had probably screwed this up before it even really started. He didn't dare to look at Ziva, but instead trained his gaze on the pavement. However, his eyes shot up when he felt her lips on his cheek. He looked at her, perplexed, but she just shrugged and winked at him. His heart skipped at least two beats. There were so many things he wanted to say to her. But he knew this wasn't the time to push his luck. So, instead, he lead her into the coffee shop without further talking.

* * *

"Thank you for tonight, Tony, I had fun," Ziva said, smiling at him as she leaned against her door frame.

He put his hand on the frame right next to her head and leaned in closer to her. Her breath caught in her throat at the close proximity.

"Anything for you," he whispered, his voice husky.

She tried to even out her breathing, but found it to be impossible. Instead, she adverted her gaze, looking at the floor instead of him. When she looked up into his eyes again, she didn't miss the change of color, the way his eyes had darkened. It wasn't lust. With him she could tell the difference. No, this was something else. This was seriousness, something meaningful, something she wasn't ready to admit to herself. At least not quite.

Her gaze moved from his eyes to his lips and back up again. And this time, when their eyes locked, she was unable to deny the overwhelming urge to feel his lips on hers. As if on cue, Tony dipped his head and before either of them knew what was happening, their lips were locked in a breathtaking, almost desperate kiss.

When they broke their first kiss, neither of them were quite able to form any coherent thoughts, so Tony did the only thing that appeared to be logical to him; he kissed her again. Their second kiss was much softer than the first kiss. While the first kiss had been an outpouring of longing that had been buried for far too long, the second kiss was an outpouring of genuine love and emotions.

She rested her forehead against his when they eventually broke the kiss, both trying to catch their breath.

"I, uh, I should probably get going," Tony mumbled.

"No," she whispered, her eyes fluttering open.

"No?"

"No," she confirmed.

"Ziva, I should really," he tried to explain, "I mean..it would be the right thing to do. I..I should really go."

"The right thing to do is not always right," she insisted.

"Then what is right?" he asked.

His voice had taken on an almost desperate edge. He did not want to screw this up. At all. It was the last thing he wanted to do. And he knew he would never be able to forgive himself if this didn't work out between them.

"You should stay here," she whispered, her lips only millimeters from his.

"I should?"

She hummed in response before gently touching her lips to his yet again.

His response was almost inaudible when he murmured into the kiss, "I should."

* * *

**A/N: There we go! Finally, this is going somewhere haha!**

**Please let me know what you think, what could be improved, and what you wanna see in future chapters, in the reviews section below! :) I LOVE to hear from you guys, and I love to hear about your personal ideas for the storyline :) (Also, I'm kind of anxious to see who is still following this story after such a long hiatus)**

**So, I can't really give you a prognosis regarding the next update. Or maybe I just don't feel confident enough in the update date that I'm aiming for. There is a date that I'm aiming for, yes. But since I have no idea what kind of surprises life has in store for me in the coming time, well.. I can promise thought that I will give my very best to update very very very soon! (like...I don't know...I do WANT to update within the next week or two at least)**

**I love you all to Pluto and back! xoxoxoxoxo**  
**~ C.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Okay, so just to be clear...this is a RANDOM occurence! It does NOT mean I'll be updating every day now.  
With that being said... ;D**

**Thank you so much for the kind words you all send in yesterday! I'm so glad that so many of you are still enjoying this story (and are willing to endure the sweet torture of hiatus...just kidding!) :)**

**Also, a note: Just because Tony came in with Ziva at the end of the chapter does NOT mean they went _there_.**

**They had been staying over at each others' places more regularly and him coming in means nothing more than them talking and falling asleep. That's it.**

**Noooow, here's chapter 9! Please enjoy reading :)**

* * *

"Wait, you're serious?" Tony questioned in complete disbelief.

"Yes," she confirmed.

"But..I mean..didn't you say you weren't ready just last night?"

"I know what I said. But I feel more confident now. It is the right thing to do."

"Ziva, I don't want you to feel obligated to do this. We only really started being serious less than a week ago. I wouldn't hold it against you if this was all getting too much for you."

"We only started being serious less than a week ago?" she repeated his words, her voice rising.

He ran a hand across his face, "That's not what I meant."

"Oh really? Then what did you mean?" she challenged.

"We had our first official date five days ago. And of course we were serious before then, but this officially marks the start into a relationship for us."

"Exactly."

"Exactly what?"

"When we first saw each other again in the coffee shop, I told you I was scared. But restoring our..thing..it has helped me a lot. It was the single most important thing for me to make things right between us. And we did. We are here and we are stronger than ever."

"So, you're saying..?"

"That I am ready to take the next step."

"And that is to..," he started, but she finished his sentence yet again, "..reconnect with the team, my..family."

He took her hands in his and looked her straight in the eyes. "Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"I have never been more sure," she replied.

He could see the truth of her words reflected in her eyes. If she was ready, then so was he. It was time to tell people why he had been so extremely cheerful lately.

* * *

His arms snaked around her waist and she could feel his warm breath on the back of her neck when he whispered, "Nervous?"

She turned around in his arms and smiled up at him. "Excited."

Tony had invited Gibbs, McGee, Abby, Ducky and Palmer over for dinner that night and they were about to arrive. They had been quite confused about his invitation out of nowhere, but had agreed to come anyway.

"You'll be fine," Tony whispered, his hand coming up to caress her cheek.

She smiled and covered his hand with hers, "_We_ will be fine."

He felt her flinch slightly when a knock sounded from the door. "Hey," he whispered, tilting her chin up with his thumb. Their eyes locked, and all the words Tony had wanted to say to her felt utterly stupid and unimportant. So, instead, he did the only thing he knew would get the message across. He touched his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. And when they pulled apart, he saw a smile on her face. Well, sometimes, words really were unnecessary.

"You stay here and I'll let them in," Tony whispered, and she nodded.

He opened the door and found everyone on the other side. Apparently they had all come together. Which somehow made the situation less complicated and more complicated at the same time.

"Hey, good to see you," he greeted them.

Abby stared at him, not even blinking. "Where is she?"

"Excuse me?" he spluttered.

"We're a bunch of federal agents, Tony," McGee spoke up, "did you really think you could fool us?"

"Technically, we're two federal agents and two medical examiners and one..," Palmer started, but quickly shut up when he saw Gibbs' stare.

"How do you..I mean..what do you..," Tony stuttered, but couldn't find the words.

"DiNozzo, we've known for weeks," Gibbs chimed in.

"But..are we even talking about the same thing right now?" Tony asked.

This couldn't be happening. There was no way they had figured it all out. And not cornered him about it.

"We have noticed the changes in your emotional appearance, Anthony. And there is only one person whom we know can make you smile the way you do lately. And that, my dear Anthony, is our Ziva," Ducky spoke up.

Tony blushed. Damn, they were good. And he was screwed. And she would be mad.

"But if you knew..I mean why did you never..?" he voiced his greatest confusion.

"Goddammit, Tony! Just let us see her!" Abby exclaimed.

Before he could really do anything about it, Abby was rushing past him and into his living room where Ziva was waiting. He turned around just in time to see Ziva's eyes widen as Abby pulled her into a bone-crashing hug.

"I missed you like so much," Abby shouted overly excited as she released Ziva from her hug.

"I have missed you too," Ziva replied, smiling fondly.

Tony watched as each team member greeted Ziva and couldn't really help the big grin that spread across his face. For the first time in over a year, he finally felt like, as cheesy as it sounded, the world was right again.

* * *

Later that night, Tony was in the kitchen with the other four men, while Abby and Ziva had stayed behind in the living room. They had spent the entire evening catching up, and Ziva was both surprised and happy at how easily her friends, the people she considered to be her family, had accepted her back. She couldn't quite believe how lucky she was.

"You know he loves you like crazy, right?" Abby's words pulled her from her thoughts, catching her completely off-guard.

"I..," she stuttered.

"I mean, you must know because even a blind person can literally see the way he looks at you and how crazy in love he is with you," Abby went on.

"I know," Ziva whispered.

"He's been a mess, you know. That's how we knew that you were back. All of a sudden he was so happy and carefree and then we just knew," Abby explained.

"But if you knew, why did you never ask him about me?" Ziva asked, voicing the one question that had been running through her mind all evening long.

"We were respecting your privacy of course," Abby pointed out, "we knew you'd both need some time to readjust. We knew you needed that and we weren't gonna be the people who messed it up."

When Ziva didn't reply, Abby went on. "I mean of course we wanted to see you and everything. But yours and Tony's relationship has always been..different. We knew that if you two didn't have this time to yourselves, it would make things too complicated. And we also knew that once you'd had this time, you'd come to us on your own terms. And that's how it should be done when you're family."

Ziva smiled at Abby, "Thank you for understanding."

"Now, seriously, you know Tony loves you, right?" Abby asked again.

"Yes. And I love him," Ziva replied honestly.

"Did you tell him that?"

"What?"

"It's a perfectly normal question. So, have you?"

"Not yet," Ziva whispered.

"You should. He might know you feel the same way, but he needs to hear you say it," Abby told her gently.

"I know."

"Good," Abby said, clearly satisfied, "and now lets interrupt that uber-important man-talk."

* * *

**A/N: I decided to take a slightly different approach than I've taken in previous stories. I mean...lets face it, their job is to find stuff out, so... I don't know, I just figured a different approach could be cool. Let me know what you think :)**

**Please let me know what you think, what could be improved and what you wanna see happen in future chapters in the reviews section below :) LOVE to hear from you lovely peeps and your words always inspire me so much :)**

**As stated in the last chapter, I have no idea what life has in store for me, so I cannot guarantee an update date. But you know I'll give my very best!**

**Love you lotsssssssss xo**  
**~ C.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Oh. My. God. It's been what? Four months? I AM SO SORRY! (I know I say this a lot, but it's true!) So, as you might have gathered from my twitter etc., I've been extremely busy with college, and I just started a new job. So, today I finally, f-i-n-a-l-l-y found the time to write a new chapter. YAAAAASSSS! I have planned the rest of this story, so it's only a matter of getting it done and putting it up. It's not too distant haha! I hope you guys still remember me - and this story. Please let me know if you're still following this story or not! (IMPORTANT!)  
Please enjoy reading! :)  
**

* * *

"No, I swear that's what happened," McGee exclaimed, trying to contain his laughter.

Tony raised his hand to wipe away tears of laughter. "You cannot be serious."

"Thing is, I am though," McGee laughed.

Suddenly, Tony's laughter faded and he stopped dead in his tracks. They had been on their way to Abby's lab and had just rounded the corner. And what he saw through the glass doors was a sight Tony had thought he'd never see again. There was Abby, and standing next to her was none other than Ziva.

"Ziva? What are you doing here?" Tony asked as they walked into the room.

Ziva turned around and flashed him a bright smile, "Visiting Abby."

Tony looked back and forth between the two. Ziva hadn't mentioned that she would come to the office to visit Abby. It wasn't like she had an obligation to tell him everything, but he just thought coming to the office was something she would mention.

"I told her she really needs to meet Ellie. Have you seen her anywhere?" Abby questioned.

McGee shrugged, "I think she went out to get coffee."

"You..you're going to meet Ellie?" Tony asked, confusion written all over his face.

Why would Ziva want to meet the person who had taken her place on the team? Wouldn't that be all kinds of awkward and weird?

"Yes. Is that a problem, Tony?" Ziva asked, smirking at him.

"What? No, no, of course not," Tony stammered.

"He's scared that she'll tell you embarrassing stuff about him," McGee suggested, unable to contain his laughter.

"Great contribution, McGee, thanks," Tony said bitterly.

Ziva took a few steps closer to Tony, then rested her hand on his chest, her eyes locked on his.

"She is a big part of all of your lives. I just want to get to know her," she said quietly.

Tony gulped, "But she took your place on the team."

Ziva tilted her head to the side, "So?"

"I just..I mean..don't you wanna come back at some point?" Tony blurted out.

Ziva could hear McGee's and Abby's sharp intakes of breath. This was a topic they had not discussed yet. Ziva had seen it coming, and she had spent a lot of time thinking about it, especially since meeting the team again three weeks ago.

"Tony," she whispered.

His face fell. "You don't want to come back?"

"You know how much I loved working with you, and you know the team is my family. But I am a different person now. This is not the life I want to live anymore," she explained, her hand gently rubbing his chest.

"But..," Tony started, but Ziva cut him off, "I will always be a member of this team. Just..in a different way."

"I totally get that," Abby exclaimed.

Ziva turned her head to shoot her a smile.

"So, you're saying that you'll come as a visitor and that you'll be at team outings, just not at work?" Tony asked.

Ziva nodded in confirmation.

"Okay," Tony said, a smile spreading across his face.

Maybe this was good. It gave them a sense of safety. One of them would not be putting their life on line on a daily basis. And if it made Ziva happy, then it made him happy too.

* * *

"Ellie! There you are!" Abby exclaimed excitedly as the young agent walked through the door.

Abby had made Tony and McGee leave after she had called Ellie down to the lab. She wanted Ziva to have the chance to meet Ellie without the two guys hanging around, watching their every move and word.

"Hi Abby," Ellie greeted, "is something up?"

"Oh, no, nothing work related at least," Abby explained. Maybe she should have mentioned that on the phone.

Ellie looked at her questioningly, obviously confused as to why Abby had called her down to the lab.

"I want you to meet someone," Abby said.

As if on cue, Ziva came in from the back room and smiled at Ellie.

"This is Ziva David, she's..," Abby started to introduce her, but Ellie cut her off, "I know who she is."

She took a step closer to Ziva and extended her hand for her to shake. "I'm Eleanor Bishop, but everyone calls me Ellie," she introduced herself.

Ziva shook her hand, smiling, "I am Ziva David."

"It's so cool to finally meet you! I've heard so much about you," Ellie exclaimed, her excitement getting the best of her.

"I have heard a lot about you, too," Ziva replied.

"I gotta go talk to Gibbs, see you guys later," Abby announced, making a quick exit.

Ellie chuckled, "That was subtle."

Ziva couldn't help but laugh as well. It was a typical Abby-move. So not subtle.

"So, I don't know what you've heard about me, but as I said I'm Ellie. I joined the team about a year ago, I used to work as an analyst for NSA, I food-associate, I like to work on the floor, and I'm married," Ellie gave a quick summary of herself.

A bright grin spread across Ziva's face. She liked Ellie. She seemed to be a really nice and fun person to be around.

"I have heard most of these things, yes," Ziva replied.

"I've heard quite the stories about you. Like, how kick-ass you are, that you used to work for Mossad – I mean if that isn't cool, I don't know what is, all the stories about the times you spent with the team, that you left, and even that you came back. Though, it's all pretty much a blur, I didn't get details," Ellie continued to ramble.

Ziva sighed and leaned with her back against the table. "It's a pretty long story," she said.

"I've gathered that much," Ellie acknowledged, leaning against the table opposite Ziva to be able to face her.

"The short version is that my father died, we tracked down his killer, and then I went to Israel to connect with my past. Tony followed me and we had a very special time together. But eventually I made him leave," Ziva started to tell her story.

She was surprised at how easily the words rolled off her tongue. She hadn't really spoken about the things that had happened, but telling Ellie was easy. Ellie didn't know her past, she only knew her present. She wouldn't judge.

"Why did you make him leave?" Ellie asked carefully.

"I thought I needed space. I thought the only way to feel whole again was to reconnect with my past and to do so alone," Ziva explained.

"But you realized you were wrong," Ellie spoke the words that had gone unspoken for far too long.

Ziva nodded, "Yes."

"So then what happened?" Ellie asked.

"After I had realized that I..that I was wrong to send him away, it took me a while to figure things out. But when I did, I booked a flight to Washington. I wanted to see him and everyone else, but I could not. I was..," Ziva continued, and Ellie finished her thought yet again, "scared?"

Again, Ziva nodded.

"I get it, it's always hard to be new somewhere," Ellie said.

"Let me guess, they made it hard for you to fit in here?" Ziva asked, the faintest of smiles tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"Yeah. That desk, I mean your old desk, they didn't want me to sit there. It was like it was sacred or something. I mean, don't get me wrong, I know they missed you and stuff, but it was just a desk, you know," Ellie told Ziva.

Ziva chuckled, "Been there, done that."

"What?" Ellie asked, clearly confused.

"When I first joined the team, they made a big deal out of that desk, too. Kate Todd, the agent who had previously been on the team, had just died and they were not ready to accept someone else sitting at her desk," Ziva recalled.

"You too?" Ellie asked, laughing.

"Maybe the desk is sacred after all," Ziva suggested, winking.

Ellie pretended to contemplate it for a while, then with her most serious possible expression said, "I haven't found the holy grail in it though. I've looked everywhere!"

The two women burst out laughing, and Ziva couldn't help but think that maybe this was the beginning of a new friendship.

* * *

**A/N: Yay or nay? :D  
Please let me know what you think, what could be improved and what you wanna see happen in future chapters in the review section below :) Also, please let me know whether you're still reading (IMPORTANT) as it doesn't make any sense to write a story that nobody reads haha!  
Looking forward to (hopefully) hearing from you!  
Again, sorry for the wait.. :(  
Lots of love,  
~ C.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hiiii guys! Thank you for completely blowing me away with the amount of positive feedback for the last chapter! It is so greatly appreciated, you have no idea! I'm so glad you're still enjoying this story :) And tadaaaa, here's the new chapter actuallyyyyy :D  
Please enjoy reading! :)  
**

* * *

Ziva's gaze traveled between her hands in her lap and Tony's finger drawing random patterns on her knee. They were at his place, watching pointless shows on TV. He'd had a long day at work, and Ziva by no means wanted to burden him after the day he'd had. But at some point, they needed to have this conversation, and she was tired of putting it off. It had been close to a week since their awkward talk in Abby's lab when she had told him she did not plan to come back to NCIS. It was about time to finish that talk.

"Tony?" she asked softly.

"Hmm," he hummed.

She shifted a bit until she was seated next to him, a little space between them.

"What is it?" he asked.

"We need to talk," she stated, fiddling with her fingers, trying to hide her nervousness, but failing miserably.

He reached out to take one of her restless hands into his, giving it a squeeze.

"You know you can talk to me about anything," he told her gently.

She nodded, "I know."

She took a deep breath and was surprised when he didn't say anything, giving her space. Just a year ago, he would have tried to get her into telling him right that second. But he was different. She was different. They were different.

"Remember when we talked about me not wanting to come back to NCIS?" she asked, trying to ease him into the conversation she was dreading.

"Of course," he nodded.

"I meant it, I do not want to come back to NCIS," she said, "but I do want to get a job."

He smiled at her, giving her hand another squeeze. "I know."

"You know?" She asked, surprised.

"Ziva, you tend to forget that I know you better than you think," he said, winking at her.

"Look, I've seen the way you act lately, you're bored, you wanna do something. I know you wanted to get used to being back in Washington first, but I also know it's time you started looking for a job. No matter how much you've changed, how different you are, there's still parts of the old Ziva in there," he said, pointing at her playfully, "and that Ziva is restless, that Ziva hates to not do anything."

She chuckled, ducking her head. She didn't want him to see her blush. Sometimes she couldn't quite believe how well he knew her, and how lucky she was to have someone like him in her life.

"Exactly," she agreed.

"So, what are you thinking?" He asked.

She shrugged, "I do not know. I want a job that is..normal."

"Ziva David and normal. I never thought I'd hear those words in one sentence," he joked.

She poked his side, but couldn't help but laugh. She liked how easy it was between them now. Their relationship had always been complicated. Too complicated. There had been so much burden on both of their shoulders. No matter how much she still hated herself for sending him away, she couldn't help but wonder if maybe the year apart had been what their fragile relationship had needed in order to become strong. For them to stand on their own feet for a while, figure things out, work through things, and then find back to each other.

"What?" Tony questioned as he caught her staring at him with a faint smile on her face.

"Nothing," she replied quickly.

"Right," he chuckled.

Damn him, he really knew her too well. He could see right through her.

"Do you have any ideas for a job?" She asked, trying to steer the conversation away from the dangerous territory of the l-word.

He shrugged, "I told you last year, and I'll tell you again. You can bag groceries for all I care. I just want you here with me."

She couldn't help the blush that crept onto her cheeks. How did she deserve someone like him?

"I do not particularly care for bagging groceries," she said.

He chuckled, "That's okay. Should've seen that one coming."

"So?" She asked.

"I don't know, Ziva. Maybe you should take the time to walk around town for a bit and look at different jobs, then decide what you want?" He suggested.

She nodded. It sounded like a good idea. She could get an idea of which jobs were even available in the area, which had openings, and what she would like to do for a living.

* * *

Tony was pulled from his thoughts when his phone rang. The day at work had been beyond boring so far and he had been extremely close to falling asleep.

"Hello?" He answered the phone without bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Hello Tony," Ziva greeted on the other end of the line.

He immediately sat up straighter in his chair. "Hi Ziva."

"I have found a job," she announced happily.

"You have?" He asked surprised.

They had only talked about her wanting to look for a job the night before. He hadn't expected her to go out and find a job right the next day. Maybe she was moving too fast? What if she was just so desperate to find a job that she would take the first one available and then be unhappy?

"Are you sure about your..job?" He asked carefully.

He could hear her laughing on the other end of the line.

"What's so funny?" He questioned.

"Hold on," she replied.

A weird sound came from the other end of the line and he figured she had put her phone down somewhere. He could hear a voice that wasn't Ziva come closer to the phone.

"He asked if I'm sure. You owe me five bucks," he could hear Ziva's voice, a laugh evident in her voice.

"No way! Ugh, that was my tip," the other voice complained.

Tony had heard the voice before, he just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Who wanted to bet again?" Ziva asked laughing.

"Fine," the other voice huffed.

Tony's eyes widened. Was that..?

"Ziva?" He asked into the phone loudly.

He could Ziva pick the phone up again. "Yes?" She asked.

"What's your new job?" He wanted to know.

She chuckled.

"Ziva?"

"It is..," she started, but was cut off by the other person laughing hysterically.

"Ziva?" He tried again.

"Meet me at the coffee shop in an hour, I'll explain," she told him, then hung up.

He stared at the phone in his hand. What the hell was going on?

* * *

**A/N: There's nothing like a good ol' ciffhanger, is there? :D Don't worry, guys, the next chapter is already waiting to be published ;)  
I know this might seem rushed to you, but let me assure you that this was the original plan! I had this plan from the very beginning, before I published the first chapter. I always do. And I always stick to it (the only exception being "Our Summer" haha).  
Please let me know what you think, what could be improved and what you wanna see in future chapters in the reviews section below :) I love to hear from you guys, positive feedback or constructive criticism. YOU are what makes me go on writing :)  
Much love xoxo  
~ C.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: SURPRISE! For you, not for me haha! I knew I was gonna update three days in a row. When I wrote the 10th Chapter on Sunday, I decided I would not upload it until I had finished the entire story as to not cause any more hiatus times. Seeing as I really wanted to update on Sunday, I then proceeded to write the entire story haha! I had planned this storyline from the very beginning, it was just a matter of putting it into words :) So, as you might have guessed from my ramble: this is the FINAL CHAPTER! You know Chapter 12's in my stories always hold a special significance, and I know I usually like to end my stories on a 5 or 0 chapter (e.g. 10, 15, 20..), but this time I decided to go with the 12 Chapters. It's a new concept haha!  
Please enjoy reading this final chapter :) (Longer A/N at the end, as always!)  
**

* * *

_~  
To Sarah,_  
_who always very subtly asks me to update,_  
_who makes me laugh a whole lot,_  
_and who is always so very calm about updates or news  
~_

* * *

"He's gonna be here in an hour," Ziva said, unable to control her laughter as she turned around.

Anna burst out laughing. "This is perfect," she exclaimed.

Ziva had been wandering around town for an hour, trying to find a job when eventually she had decided she needed a tea. Upon entering the coffee shop and seeing a grinning Anna behind the counter, it had hit her like a ton of bricks. This was it! She wanted a job that was normal. She wanted to have a safe job. She wanted to work with people she liked. And above all, she wanted a new beginning. Not a completely new beginning though. Because as Anna had told her when she had arrived back in Washington: "Life is lived into the future, but can only be understood through the eye of the past." She would live in the present, into the future. A new beginning as a barista. But she would still have a notion of the past attached to her new job. She had known this coffee shop for years, way before she had left and come back. Plus, having someone like Anna as a co-worker was a guarantee for there never being a dull moment.

"Thank you again for making this possible," Ziva said, smiling at Anna.

"Hey, that's what friends are for," Anna told her, winking.

Anna had called in a favor with her boss, providing Ziva with a job right that second. It was almost too good to be true. Granted, it wasn't the most well-paid job, but to Ziva it didn't matter. But it was with an amazing co-worker, the workplace held special significance for her new beginning. And above all, it was a job that made her happy. What more could she want?

"Now the two strangers who became a pair of familiar people can be awesome together," Anna joked, nudging Ziva's side.

Ziva chuckled, "You're right on that one."

"So, what's the plan to surprise Tony then?" Anna asked.

Ziva's face turned serious. Abby's words from three weeks ago had been ringing in her eyes ever since Abby had uttered them. It was time to just..do it.

"I need your help with that, Anna," Ziva said.

Anna tilted her head to the side, her eyes sparkling with both curiosity and excitement. "I'm all ears."

* * *

"Tony! Hi!" Anna exclaimed as Tony walked in.

She was unable to contain a huge grin to spread across her face. This was going to be so good!

"Hi Anna," Tony greeted, walking over to the counter.

"Coffee?" Anna asked.

"Yeah, uh..have you seen Ziva? She said she wanted to meet me here," Tony said.

"Ziva? No," Anna lied.

She had to try really hard to contain the laughter. Truth was, Ziva was standing in plain sight, but Tony didn't notice. They had put Ziva's hair up under a cap, and she was currently standing at the coffee machine, her back to Tony. He had no idea.

"Oh okay," Tony nodded.

"Do you want a coffee while you wait?" Anna asked.

"Yeah, sure," he replied, pulling out his wallet, but Anna held up her hand.

"This one's on the house," she told him.

He smiled at her, "Thanks, Anna."

She bit her lip to keep from saying or doing anything that would give them away.

"Hey, one all black coffee with a secret packet of sugar for Tony!" Anna shouted in the direction of 'the other barista', also known as none other than Ziva David.

Ziva started brewing the coffee and took a paper cup into her hand, trying to keep her hands from shaking as she wrote on it. This was it. She was about to finally do it. She filled the cup with the coffee and put a packet of sugar in it.

She turned around, smiling at Tony nervously. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Ziva?" He asked.

"Hi," she greeted, smiling at him.

"I thought I might have heard Anna on the phone, but I wasn't sure," he said, looking back and forth between Ziva and Anna.

Anna had a huge grin on her face, her gaze fixed on Tony as to not miss his reaction.

Tony looked at Ziva, "So this is your new job?"

She nodded happily, "Anna called in a favor. We are officially co-workers."

Tony smiled brightly. Ziva looked genuinely happy and content. He had waited long enough to see her like this.

"I'm glad you're happy," he told her softly, making her blush.

"Thank you, Tony," she whispered.

She looked at the paper cup in her hand, taking a shaking breath.

"Here is your coffee," she said, holding the cup out for him.

As he took it, she noticed how his gaze caught onto the writing on the cup that was clearly longer than just his name. He read the words over and over again, unable to comprehend them. Then he looked up at Ziva, his eyes wide and full of hope.

"Ziva," he whispered, his voice catching.

She smiled almost shyly as she made her way around the counter, coming to a stop in front of him.

He put the paper cup on the counter, taking her hands in his.

"You do?" He asked, his voice wavering.

Her gaze dropped, then moved back up, meeting his.

"I do," she confirmed, "I love you, Tony."

She wanted to scream and cry and laugh all at the same time. It felt so good to finally say it. To finally tell him the truth. That yes, goddamn yes, she loved him. She loved him. She wanted to scream it on a ferries-wheel, going round and round.

"I love you too, Ziva," he whispered, the joy in his voice undeniable.

Her eyes fluttered shut when his lips met hers in the gentlest of kisses. Ten years of denying their feelings for each other. Ten years of back and forth, walking without ever getting anywhere. Ten years of metaphors and hidden meanings and shifting gears and taking wrong turns and being on different streets. Ten years of right, yet wrong coffee orders. Ten years of hiding behind masks. And now, finally, after ten years, they were here. Together. Finally.

Anna watched them with a bright smile on her face. Her gaze traveled to the paper cup on the counter. Oh, what a good cup of coffee couldn't do. She reached out, tracing the black letters on the white cup. I love you. The cup was paper, their love was not.

* * *

_**~ Fade Out ~** _

* * *

**A/N: And that is a WRAP!  
**_Thank you again to everyone who read this story and to everyone who took the time to write reviews or messages. It means the world to me! Your comments/messages never fail to make me smile, and you spur me on to be a better writer every day. Thank you so so much! Without you, this Fanfiction Account would not exist, let that sink in. You're not just readers, you INSPIRE. _  
_I could name a whole bunch of people who have reviewed every single chapter and spurred me on even during times of hiatus, but that would take forever haha! You know I usually do it, but just know that I appreciate ALL of you!_**  
Please let me know what you think of this final chapter and the story as a whole in the reviews section below :) I would love to hear your final thoughts! **_Also, you know I'm always open to prompts and ideas for future stories or even sequels/one-shots connected to this story, so if you have any ideas or wishes, please don't hesitate to shoot me a message :)**  
**_**Sending you a big hug and lots of love! ****  
Thank you for reading "Black Coffee and Green Tea" and following on the journey :)  
xoxo,  
~ C.**


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